Hearing Monday on plan for 1,000-space garage at Union Station in New Haven

Plan to increase parking supply by 740 spaces

By Mary O’Leary moleary@nhregister.com @nhrmoleary on Twitter

Published 11:45 pm, Sunday, June 5, 2016

NEW HAVEN >> Commuters and residents interested in future development in the area of Union Station are encouraged to attend a hearing tonight on the state’s plans for a garage that will double parking capacity for train riders, although that may not be enough.

The state has finished an environmental evaluation of an estimated 1,000-space garage with seven parking levels north of Union Station on property currently occupied by a 260-space surface parking lot.

When finished, it is expected to increase parking supply at the busy station by about 740 spaces.

The state Department of Transportation estimates that between the current garage and a new facility, commuters will have access to 1,884 spaces, while the need could be as high as 2,000 spaces.

The environmental evaluation said a 1,000-space garage is the practical maximum number that could be accommodated on the surface lot.

It offered, however, that the unmet parking demand could be offset by increased bicycling, walking and transit trips to the station, as well as enhanced rail service and parking at nearby commuter stations already built, such as in West Haven, and others in the planning.

The need for more parking has been evident for over a decade and various proposals have been offered in recent years to accommodate that as well as how it fits into future development at Church Street South, the Hill and the former Coliseum site.

The 2013 Goody Clancy proposal looked at potential ground floor retail and privately financed housing wrapping a garage, but this has been rejected as too expensive.

Also, hundreds of units of housing are now separately planned as part of developments in the Hill and at the nearby former Coliseum site, which currently is used for the overflow from the Union Station garage, as well as by commuters to employers downtown.

After decades of neglect, plans are also proceeding for new apartments to replace nearby Church Street South, a key transit-oriented development.

More recently, city officials have been talking about the need for a bus depot at the proposed garage where Ct Transit buses could congregate, rather than on the Green.

The proposed $50 million garage, according to the environmental study, would include a bus pull-off area on Union Avenue along the frontage of the proposed garage with space for up to three typical 40-foot buses.

There would be a passenger waiting area and amenities are being considered along the frontage, while a second bus pull-off area is also a possibility.

A new taxi staging area within the existing garage and adjacent to a proposed pedestrian walkway is in the plan that will be discussed at the hearing that is set to begin at 6 p.m. at Gateway Community College, 20 Church St.

The last public hearing on Dec. 15 was poorly advertised and not well-attended.

The proposed garage would be bounded on the south by the existing Union Station parking garage, on the east by the New Haven rail yard, on the west by Union Avenue, and on the north by a United Illuminating power substation.

Access to the new garage would be from the same driveway off Union Avenue now serving the current garage on the south and through a new driveway connection from the north.

The two garages would be linked with pedestrian connections on each level and a vehicular bridge on two levels.

Future projects include a pedestrian bridge that would ultimately link the entire parking complex to four existing train platforms and a second pedestrian bridge connecting to the massive Component Change-out rail facility on the south side of the New Haven rail yard.

Union Station is a regional transportation hub that includes Amtrak service to New York City, Hartford and Boston, and in early 2018 there will be increased service from New Haven to Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts.

The proposed garage plan also calls for incorporating new central management office space that will free up offices now located in Union Station for other uses.

All this planning is advancing as the city works on renewing its leasing arrangement with the state for operation of Union Station and its garages.

The state leases the 7-acre Union Station Transportation Center, which includes the station, commuter lots and rail platforms, to the city, which contracts with Park New Haven to operate and manage it under a 35-year lease that is in effect until June 2017.

Tony Bialecki, the chairman of the city’s Parking Authority board, said the city has had a good relationship with the state under the present arrangement and has been a good steward and manager of the rail assets.

Using revenue bonds, it built the current garage in 1988 and major renovations of Union Station were undertaken in 1984. It also offered to build the proposed garage, but the state is doing it through its bonding.

The revenue generated by the garage has been put back into the facility in agreement with state officials.

Bialecki said the bonds have been paid off and investments in the general upkeep have put Union Station in excellent working order.

“The operation has been governed successfully over the years,” Bialecki said, with the revenues helping to cover the cost of the administration at the Parking Authority, an important factor for the city.

Other Connecticut stations have brought in third-party operators to run them, but New Haven feels it has proven capable of doing this itself, while it also looks to future improvements.

“It is a great facility and we want to do more inside the building itself,” Bialecki said.

One study has already been done on new services that could be offered there.

Bialecki said they have a good relationship with the 100 workers under the Parking Authority and in the most recent contract were able to get an agreement on more efficient operation of all its garage and surface parking lots.

Deputy Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli said part of the discussion at the hearing will be how to best improve customer satisfaction at Union Station, as well as the role of the facility in the development of a replacement for the Church Street housing project.

He said the governance is not just about the finances but the vision for the area as well as Union Station itself. Piscitelli said a lot of the interior retail space will be available as the state offices move out.

Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson said Union Station is one of the city’s “most important iconic assets,” and for visitors to New Haven it is the first thing they encounter.

With all the potential development happening in the area, he feels it is important that New Haven have operational control with the state, rather than outsourcing it to a third party.

“We can continue to do a great job here,” he said. Losing the administrative coverage they now have would negatively impact the city’s parking system, Nemerson said.